Tuesday, 30 January 2018

Nairobi, Kenya (CNN)Kenyan opposition leader Raila Odinga, who
boycotted the country’s disputed election last year, swore himself in as
the “people’s president” at a mock inauguration ceremony Tuesday in
protest against President Uhuru Kenyatta.Thousands of opposition supporters gathered at Uhuru Park in central
Nairobi to attend the “swearing-in” protest event, which was organized
by Odinga’s National Super Alliance (NASA). Police fired tear gas in an
attempt to disperse crowds pulling down signs near the park on Tuesday.Authorities had earlier said they would put a stop to any illegal
meetings, but Reuters reported that no uniformed police could be seen in
the park and no anti-riot officers or vehicles were visible.Kenyatta won a second presidential term with 98% of the vote
following a controversial election re-run in November. The country’s
Supreme Court nullified the previous ballot, also won by Kenyatta, due
to “illegalities and irregularities.”Odinga and his opposition party dropped out of the second vote,
claiming the election commission had failed to implement any reforms.NASA says it wants to create an alternative government in protest
Kenyatta’s rule. Some are hoping Tuesday’s event will push Kenyatta, who
promised to work towards national unity during his second term, to
include opposition leaders in dialogue and in his ministerial
appointments.But the government has warned that Tuesday’s events amount to treason — an offense punishable by death, according to Kenyan law.Ahead of the event, three of the country’s largest television
stations were pulled off air by the government — a move not seen in the
country for years.

“President Kenyatta expressly threatened to shut down and revoke the
licenses of any media that would broadcast the planned purported
swearing in of NASA leaders Raila Odinga and Kalonzo Musyoka on
Tuesday,” Kenya Editor’s Guild Chairman Linus Kaikai said in a statement
on Monday night.

Local channels KTN, NTV and Citizen television’s free-to-air channels
were turned off beginning around 10:00 a.m. (2:00 a.m. ET) Tuesday
morning.
The election-related drama in the east Africa’s economic hub has been
stuttering along for months, and on Tuesday a state of apprehension hung
in the air. National newspapers captured the sense of uncertainty: one headline
read “Moment of truth,” while another read “What to expect on this day
of conflict”.While not specifically naming Odinga, Attorney General Githu Muigai
warned last month that any attempt to hold an alternative swearing-in
event amounted to treason.“The swearing in of any person not lawfully declared to have won an
election by the independent election and boundaries commission, and the
swearing in that is not conducted by the chief justice of the Republic
of Kenya is a process wholly unanticipated by the constitution and is
null and void and illegal,” Muigai said.“The criminal law of the Republic of Kenya stipulates that sort of
process is high treason … It is high treason of the persons involved,
and any other person facilitating that process,” he added.

Observers fear that Tuesday’s protest could lead to more public
unrest. At least 92 people were killed in election-related violence,
according to a report from Kenya’s National Commission on Human Rights. CNN